Designers

Jewelry

Under $250

Buyers Guide - Gemstones

Alexandrite

Colors: Color changes under different lighting from greens to red or purple.Fast Fact: A regal gem in terms of demand named after Russia’s Czar Alexander II.Primary Sources: Ural Mountains, Sri Lanka, Burma, Brazil and India.Birthstone: Month of June

Amethyst

Colors: VioletFast Fact: Most highly valued of the quartz group and is said to have strong supernatural powers.Primary Sources: Zambia, Brazil, Uruguay, Namibia, Congo, Madagascar and Russia.Birthstone: Month of February

Aquamarine

Colors: Light blue, blue, blue-greenFast Fact: A member of the beryl family, aquamarine is Latin for “Water of the Sea”.Primary Sources: Brazil, Sri Lanka, India, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Nigeria and the United States.

Citrine

Colors: Light golden yellow to reddish yellow.Fast Fact: Natural colors of citrine are quite rare with a majority of material heat treated to produce desirable colors.Primary Sources: Brazil and UruguayBirthstone: Month of November

Emerald

Colors: Light to dark green Fast Fact: Caesar was said to have viewed gladiator battles through an emerald to soothe his eyes.Primary Sources: Columbia, Brazil, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Pakistan, Madagascar, Afghanistan, Russia and India. Birthstone: Month of May

Iolite

Colors: Various blue, and purplish blue hues. Fast Fact: Viking explorers took advantage of iolite's polarizing qualities to determine the location of the sun on cloudy days when navigating the open sea. Primary Sources: India and Madagascar.

Opal

Colors: White, gray or black base with blue, purple, red, orange, yellow and green fire. Fast Fact: On the average an opal can contain 5 - 10 percent water, but can hold as much as 30 percent water.Primary Sources: Australia. Birthstone: Month of October

Pearl

Colors: Pink, cream, gold, black and white.Fast Fact: The oldest known pearl jewelry was found in the coffin of a Persian princess who died in 520 BC.Primary Sources: Japan, China, Tahiti, Australia, Indonesia, Philippines, United States and Burma.Birthstone: Alternate for Month of June

Peridot

Colors: Yellow-green, olive green and brownish.Fast Fact: The island of St. John was the only ancient source of peridot until other sources were discovered in the 1900s.Primary Sources: Pakistan, China, Burma, United States, North Korea, Vietnam Birthstone: Month of August

Ruby

Colors: Various shades of red.Fast Fact: The red variety of corundum is associated with the color of blood; ruby was once believed to remedy hemorrhaging. Primary Sources: Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Madagascar, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India.Birthstone: Month of July

Sapphire

Colors: Various hues of blue, pink, and yellow. Fast Fact: In the 12th Century the Bishop of Rennes gave high praise to sapphire and had all ecclesiastical rings set with the gemstone.Primary Sources: Madagascar, Burma, Sri Lanka, Australia, Cambodia and the United States.Birthstone: Month of September

Tanzanite

Colors: Sapphire blue, to amethyst violet and green.Fast Fact: Thulite was the only variety of zoisite on the market until 1967 when tanzanite was discovered. Primary Sources: Tanzania.

Tourmaline

Colors: Blue, pink, yellow, green and violet Fast Fact: No other gemstone in the world has as much color variation as tourmaline. Primary Sources: Nigeria, Brazil, Pakistan, Madagascar, Namibia and the United States. Birthstone: Alternate for Month of October